extra coolent capacity
Thread Starter
On The Tree
Joined: Mar 2006
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extra coolent capacity My bug has issues in hot weather with over heating. Radiator is a 2" thick 24" wide, 15" height. Kinda small, but is all i could fit in there. with the turbo and intercooler, its gonna need all the help it can get
I am going to upgrade the current electric fan to a better setup, while i am doing that I am making a nice stainless lower radiator hose, which is were my question arises.
Could I incorperate a large "chamber" perhaps a large diameter section pipe or make a wide slim rectangular section in the lower radiator pipe which would hold more fluid, say .5 gallons (maybe 1 gallon).
I just think the current amount of fluid in my system seems too small, the radiator holds maybe 2 gallons + what evers in the block.
any thoughts? would having more fluid in the system help stabilize temperatures?
thanks, matt
I am going to upgrade the current electric fan to a better setup, while i am doing that I am making a nice stainless lower radiator hose, which is were my question arises.
Could I incorperate a large "chamber" perhaps a large diameter section pipe or make a wide slim rectangular section in the lower radiator pipe which would hold more fluid, say .5 gallons (maybe 1 gallon).
I just think the current amount of fluid in my system seems too small, the radiator holds maybe 2 gallons + what evers in the block.
any thoughts? would having more fluid in the system help stabilize temperatures?
thanks, matt
Extra fluid could help, don't know how much 0.5 gallons would help though. My first question is what material your radiator is made out of? If you are not running aluminum, upgrade to that first. Could also make sure you are getting proper airflow...is the rad in the front or back?
TECH Resident
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 792
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From: SoCal
It appears to me that you may have a hot air exhaust issue judging by how your engine bay is configured. Air flow through the radiator occurs through a pressure differential i.e. you need lower pressure on the exhaust side in order to draw ait into the front. Is this a tube framed car? You might consider putting an air dam or a skirt under the front bumper/bottom leading edge in order to create a little negative pressure in order to draw air out of the engine compartment.
All the above of course won't help if there are other fundamental cooling system issues like air entrapment especially when the radiator is lower than the motor. Running the steam vent lines to a header tank mounted at the highest point would help. I don't believe you have a system capacity issue, IMO.
Good luck,
Andy1
All the above of course won't help if there are other fundamental cooling system issues like air entrapment especially when the radiator is lower than the motor. Running the steam vent lines to a header tank mounted at the highest point would help. I don't believe you have a system capacity issue, IMO.
Good luck,
Andy1
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I have spent a lot of time chasing down problems like this 
.
Take a step back.
What is the thermostat temp?
What is the fan on and off temp?
What exactly happens to coolant temps as you drive?
. Take a step back.
What is the thermostat temp?
What is the fan on and off temp?
What exactly happens to coolant temps as you drive?
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Verdad Gallardo Sounds like air flow problem. Are you running a belly pan on the Bug? Cooling problems are caused when the pressure in the engine compartment is higher than outside the car. The engine compartment needs air to flow through it (usually in the front, out under the car at the firewall). When the air can't go anywhere it essentially gets "packed" into the engine compartment and doesn't flow over the radiator. Side vents or even a cowl hood can be used to alleviate the higher pressure in the engine compartment. One way to test could be to put a few washers between your hinges and hood so that there is a larger space where the rear of the hood and the windshield cowl meet...this may help move air through the engine compartment and cool your engine better (might not be enough to solve the problem but for the price of a few washers/longer bolts would help to test the "pressure" hypothesis. Jacking up the hood a little is a popular "mod" for some friends of mine with turbo Scion TCs. I believe Grand Nationals also had those side vents on the fenders in order to better cool the turbo engine that produced more heat than the other G-bodies.
Could also double check that your cooling system doesn't have an air bubble...could be just that simple.
Could also double check that your cooling system doesn't have an air bubble...could be just that simple.
